(l tor) Donald J. Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fox News.
May 8, 2024 - "In a surprising turn of events, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging former President Donald Trump to a formal debate at the upcoming Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C. This bold move comes amidst a flurry of speculation and uncertainty surrounding the 2024 presidential election landscape.... As the political world holds its breath, one can't help but wonder if this high-stakes debate will indeed come to fruition, and what impact it could have on the race for the White House."
This story is a summary of posts on X and may evolve over time. Grok can make mistakes, verify its outputs.
I’m grateful to you for calling attention to the rigged polling methodologies that biased DNC-influenced media have used against you. We have this concern too, and I’m happy to show you the deceptive methodologies used by DNC-allied pollsters who pretend that I’m in single digits. You have correctly characterized these as “fake polls.”
This is why we did our own poll with Zogby — the largest and most accurate poll of this election cycle. We had Zogby ask about head-to-head matchups. (1) You versus President Biden. (2) Me versus President Biden. (3) Me versus you. The results? You beat President Biden handily. I crush him as well, by even more. And against each other, I beat you in a nail-biter.
In a three-way, you are ahead but I’m coming up strong. Two new polls (CNN and Quinnipiac) have me above the 15% debate threshold. Another (Activote) has me at 26% among young voters. And you and I are tied among America’s 70 million Independents.
I’m also drawing a lot of voters from your former supporters. They are upset that you blew up the deficit, shut down their businesses during Covid, and filled your administration with swamp creatures.
So I’d like to make you an offer. We’re both going to be speaking at the upcoming Libertarian convention on May 24 and 25. It’s perfect neutral territory for you and me to have a debate where you can defend your record for your wavering supporters.
You yourself have said you’re not afraid to debate me as long as my poll numbers are decent. Well, they are. In fact, I’m the only presidential candidate in history who has polled ahead of both major party candidates in head-to-head races.
So let’s meet at the Libertarian convention and show the American public that at least two of the major candidates aren’t afraid to debate each other. I asked the convention organizers and they are game for us to use our time there to bring the American people the debate they deserve!
Deana Sherif, a serial protester for far-left causes in Canada with a history of violent and harassing behavior, has finally been arrested and charged (and denied bail) after she allegedly assaulted a police officer making an arrest.
April 29, 2024 - "An Ottawa anti-Israel activist was arrested and charged with assault and hate-motivated harassment during an April 15 protest in the Canadian capital, local law enforcement announced on Saturday. Deana Sherif, 47, is alleged to have assaulted a person with a 'handheld sound amplifier' after the victim had walked near an anti-Israel demonstration and argued with her. Sherif used the device at a different location later in the day against another victim. Sherif allegedly verbally abused both victims, shouting 'hateful messages' at her target at the later event.
"In addition to charges for intimidation by disorderly following, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, and two charges for assault with a weapon and hate-motivated harassment by threatening conduct, Sherif allegedly assaulted a police officer to prevent them from arrest. 'While police were attempting to effect a lawful arrest, the individual inserted herself into the situation, and in doing so, physically assaulted one of the officers,' said The Ottawa Police Service Hate and Bias Crime Unit and Central Criminal Investigation Section.
"Journalist Chris Dacey, who shared on X on Saturday that he has documented Sherif acting violently at such protests, said, 'It's well past time she faces consequences for her actions.'"
April 29, 2024 - "Canadian social justice activist Deana Sherif will be facing accountability for aggressive actions after years of bothering conservatives. Sherif had been denied bail at a Sunday court appearance after being charged with offences such as assaulting a police officer, obstructing a peace officer, and assault with a weapon. The judge had imposed a publication ban to cover the reasons for the decision....
"Sherif had been brought before a virtual court for bail proceedings. About 120 people attended the court hearing. No one was allowed to record it....
"Sherif acts as a perpetual protestor, who attends demonstrations for various causes across Ontario. She has a history of violent and harassing behaviour, with limited police intervention to protect people. It is alleged she assaulted a police officer with the intent to prevent an arrest at an Ottawa protest on April 15 among other serious charges....
"While the ruling had been pushed off, the court appearance ended because of the abrupt display of pornography from an unknown participant."
May 3, 2024 - "Exchanges in Parliament’s main theatre, the House of Commons, devolved this week into a mayhem more suited for under a circus big top. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre engaged in a disrespectful partisan slugfest and the degradation was furthered by the clownish stumbling of the Speaker of the House. The Trudeau-Poilievre non sequitur argument and the ensuing sideshows throughout this week sadly reflect the deteriorated state of Canada’s democratic institution and its elected representatives to debate the many serious issues of the land.
"The climax of this tragi-comedy was during a heated exchange in Tuesday’s Question Period, when Speaker Greg Fergus expelled Poilievre for unparliamentary language. Most of the Tory caucus followed their leader out of the House.... Poilievre had asked Trudeau to explain why the federal government had yet to act on a B.C. government’s 'urgent' request to end the federal-provincial pilot program relating to hard drugs decriminalization. In response to this serious issue, Trudeau launched into a series of insults. He excitedly accused Poilievre of 'shameful, spineless leadership' and suggested he was sympathetic to white nationalist groups. (Over the weekend Trudeau had been making great noise in CBC News interviews and in Liberal fundraising appeals about Poilievre courting members of a group from Diagolon – an internet meme country). There was no attempt to address the issue raised by Poilievre....
"The Conservative leader countered the insults by rephrasing his lead question and calling Trudeau a 'wacko.. and the Liberals’ hard drugs policy 'wacko.' Fergus asked Poilievre to withdraw his adjective. Poilievre replaced 'wacko' with the word 'radical.' Fergus rejected this adjective and asked Poilievre to withdraw it. Poilievre replied with the word 'extremist.' Fergus rejected this and it was then that he directed Poilievre to leave the House of Commons. So, ended the centre ring circus act, with Trudeau smiling like a Cheshire Cat and Liberal MPs braying across the floor of the Commons.
"On Wednesday, Fergus rejected formal calls from both the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois to resign due to his bias, partisan actions. Bloc House leader Alain Therrien commented: 'Mr. Fergus has had difficulty maintaining peace in Parliament for a long time. We think the Speaker should leave. The recent events confirm that position.' Conservative MP Michael Cooper was more pointed in saying: 'He should resign, he’s a disgrace'.... The Liberals took to the airwaves and social media Tuesday and Wednesday to denounce Conservatives as 'conspiracy theorists' unfit to lead given their support for the people of Diagolon. In their excitement over Diagolon, there was also lip service paid in support of the beleaguered Speaker.
"What was lost in this nonsensical episode was a reply to British Columbians about the nightmares they are currently coping with in their streets, playgrounds, and hospitals. In fact, while the Diagolon-wacko standoff has been unfolding, the Trudeau government and much of the legacy media have allowed many serious national issues to go unreported. Trudeau, his ministers, and their sponsored legacy media have been too preoccupied with Diagolon and slurring the Conservatives....
"There are many concerns upstaged by Ottawa’s clown show. Consider these issues that demand answers if we were not all so entranced by Diagolon and whether Fergus will do the honourable thing and resign. Here: ArriveCan scandal, McKinsey sole-sourced contracts, details of the capital gains tax changes, Winnipeg lab security breaches, findings that suggest the Liberals knew and attempted to conceal facts about China’s influence in elections, and the escalation of the anti-Israel, pro-Humas demonstrations tolerated by the government and police on Canadian campuses, on city streets, and, most reprehensible, in known Jewish neighbourhoods.
"And the dread and anguish of British Columbians deserves answers from this government. Last week B.C. Premier David Eby asked the federal government to halt the hard drugs pilot program that is currently in year one of three. It was expressed as an 'urgent' request to alleviate what has become an intolerable situation in B.C. communities – where drugged-up people lay incapacitated in streets, shoot up in kids’ playgrounds and school yards, and cause fear in hospital corridors. It is a crisis that is killing an average of seven people a day.
"Trudeau continues to defend and promote the Liberal policy that has decriminalized possession of small amounts of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, among other street drugs. Ya’ara Saks, the federal Addictions Minister is also avoiding the facts.... Why is there not a serious debate in Canada’s parliament about seven British Columbians dying daily as a result of drugs? How do Canadians get a response to this serious issue and the many others when they all seem to get lost in the hurley burley under the big top?"
November 26, 2023 - "There’s an elephant in the room, the speaker declared. He was right. I was at a gathering, as I often am, of people who aspire to rescue their countries from descending into woke, collectivist hell. But the attendees were not of one mind. Instead, there were two kinds of people in attendance. The elephant in the room was the tension between them.
"Across the West, Virtue People, and Freedom People have been working together. At conferences, in think tanks, at school boards, on email lists, in living rooms, on X, and sometimes marching in the streets, they coalesce. These two groups constitute the rebel alliance against authoritarian woke globalism. But their political philosophies conflict.
"Virtue People believe that virtue is the most important thing. Tradition, faith, family, responsibility, dignity, patriotism, community, and spiritual or religious conviction are the pillars upon which the West must be built. Virtue People are often, but not always, people of faith, especially of the Christian variety. Laws, governments, and society, they believe, should promote the True, the Beautiful, and the Good.
"Freedom People don’t share this view. They believe that freedom is the most important thing. Virtues, they believe, are for individuals to work out for themselves. The primary accomplishment of the West, they would say, is individual autonomy. The purpose of government is to secure individual rights to liberty. Freedom means the absence of coercion. You may decide your values, actions, and groups for yourself. Freedom means “freedom from.”
"Virtue People believe in freedom too, especially in this era of illiberal progressivism. But freedom means a different thing to them. Freedom is essential, they would say, but the decline of the West is due to an excessive emphasis on individuality. (If that makes perfect sense to you, you may be a Virtue Person. If it sounds like a contradiction, you are probably a Freedom Person.)
"Freedom, they would say, means the disciplining of desire, which requires limits. Freedom is the liberation to act responsibly, to be transcendent, and to flourish virtuously. We become free, they would say, to the extent that our will becomes coherent with objective Good. Freedom means “freedom to.”
"In the political sphere, these two kinds of freedom are incompatible. Freedom People expect their governments to keep the peace and protect the individual – and otherwise to not interfere. Virtue People expect their governments to promote the Good with laws and policies. Virtue People support laws that prohibit behavior that is, in their view, immoral, damaging to human flourishing, or inconsistent with common good. Assisted suicide, prostitution, divorce, pornography, even heresy, just to start, shall not be permitted.
"To achieve their ends, Virtue People rely on force. At least, that’s what Freedom People would say. Virtue People use laws to achieve their ends, and laws depend on force. Every legal rule identifies a circumstance in which the state will bend the will of its citizens. Without the monopolistic violence of the state, laws cannot be enforced. Virtue People are willing to use that force to achieve their virtuous ends. Therefore, allege the Freedom People, they are willing to use force to have their way.
"Freedom People are decadent. At least, that’s what Virtue People would say. If morality crimes do not exist and individuals are free to decide their own values, depravity ensues. Libertarians and libertines are cousins, Virtue People would declare. Excessive individualism causes indulgence, narcissism, and social decay.
"But Freedom People can be virtuous too. They can embrace faith, family, and community. They can disapprove of behavior, such as prostitution, that Virtue People would ban. However, Freedom People make a distinction that Virtue People are unable or unwilling to make. Freedom People see two different questions where Virtue People see only one. How should people behave? How must they behave? For Freedom People, the first is philosophical and personal. The second is legal and coercive. The answer to the first does not answer the second. Freedom People do not impose their moral judgments on others. They will not have others impose upon them.
|Paradoxically, Freedom People have faith that Virtue People lack. They have faith in spontaneous order. If we leave people alone, they say, things will turn out fine. Individual decisions will coalesce into peace and prosperity. Virtue People do not believe in spontaneous order. They want their hands on the wheel, so that they can manage people to virtuous ends.
"Freedom People will not be managed. They believe that the West’s problem is too little liberty. Virtue People believe that the problem is too much. Freedom People oppose the administrative state. Virtue People embrace it if it directs people to proper ends. Neither will sign on to the other’s project. Although they cooperate to resist the tyranny of the woke, they are not likely to succeed unless they reconcile.
|At the gathering, most people were Virtue People. The few Freedom People present slowly realized that they had attended a kind of church to which they did not belong. The Virtue People who filled the room, steadfast in their conviction that they knew best what is Right and Good, did not seem to be aware of them. Or for that matter, that they existed at all.
"Near the end, I spoke with an earnest, soft-spoken gentleman in horn-rimmed glasses. In his ideal world, the law would prohibit behavior that conflicted with the Good, as he perceived it. When I pointed out that some people in the room would oppose that enterprise with all their might, his mouth fell open and his eyes grew wide behind his thick lenses. That possibility had not occurred to him. Not everyone sees the elephant in the room."
The annual May Day march in Montreal turned violent, with demonstrators smashing the windows of businesses, setting off smoke bombs, and fighting with police.
May 2, 2024 - "Local and federal politicians are condemning the actions of protestors after the annual May Day march in Montreal turned violent, with demonstrators smashing windows of businesses and setting off smoke bombs. Thousands of people turned out to the International Workers Day or May Day march at Francois-Perrault Park near the Saint-Michel metro station on May 1, according to reports. The event was organized by a coalition of unions and community organizations under the umbrella group May 1 Montreal Coalition.
"Videos circulating on social media show protestors in black masks and hoods smashing windows and throwing parking cones and other items. Montreal police said officers had to step in to disperse the crowd. 'Due to several offenses committed during [demonstrations], we are carrying out a dispersal operation in the Sherbrooke/Robert-Bourassa sector. People must leave the premises immediately,' police said in a post on X.
"Smoke bombs, parking cones, trash cans, and signs were thrown about by demonstrators, according to a TVA reporter, who also said officers were attacked and pepper spray was used.
"The Epoch Times contacted the May 1 Montreal Coalition and Montreal police for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
"Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante condemned the protesters’ behaviour in a post on social media. 'These actions are absolutely unacceptable,' she said in a May 2 post on social media. 'I denounce the mayhem suffered by downtown merchants last night during the anti-capitalist demonstration'....
"This year’s theme for the protest event was ‘united to make our voices heard,’ according to a press release from the coalition. The release said there were concerns that needed to be handled collectively, including climate change, working conditions of temporary foreign workers, 'antidemocratic abuses' by Quebec Premier François Legault, and an out-of-touch government."
May 1, 2024 — "The Libertarian National Party, the Party of Principle, announced today that President Donald J. Trump has responded to an invitation, and challenge, from the Libertarian Party to speak at its National Convention, and directly address concerns voiced by its members. President Trump will speak on Saturday, May 25th, in Washington, D.C. Members of the Libertarian Party will share a list of their top ten issues with President Trump in advance of the convention....
"[Libertarian National Committee Chair] Angela McArdle states, 'For 50 years, we’ve been trying to get our candidates on the main stage with major party POTUS candidates and we’ve finally succeeded in bringing one to our stage. We will do everything in our power to use this incredible opportunity to advance the message of liberty.'
“'Libertarians are some of the most independent and thoughtful thinkers in our Country, and I am honored to join them in Washington, DC, later this month,' said President Trump. 'We must all work together to help advance freedom and liberty for every American, and a second Trump Administration will achieve that goal. I look forward to speaking at the Libertarian Event, which will be attended by many of my great friends. We all have to remember that our goal is to defeat the Worst President in the History of the United States, BY FAR, Crooked Joe Biden. If Libertarians join me and the Republican Party, where we have many Libertarian views, the election won’t even be close. We cannot have another four years of death, destruction, and incompetence. WE WILL WORK TOGETHER AND WIN!'
"The theme for the 2024 Libertarian National Convention is 'Become Ungovernable.' This was chosen following the previous years of unconscionable authoritarian actions by the United States Federal, and State governments, which saw citizens confined, indoctrinated, lied to, and inoculated against their will. The citizens of these United States must become ungovernable to regain their basic rights and freedoms. This year’s convention will welcome world-renowned speakers, activists, and thinkers, as well as decide the Libertarian presidential candidate for the 2024 election cycle. There is no greater collection, nor community, of freedom, liberty, and independently-minded people.
"Speakers confirmed thus far for the Convention include: President Donald J. Trump; cardiologist and epidemiologist, Dr. Peter McCullough; filmmaker, and brother of Julian Assange, Gabriel Shipton; “Part of the Problem Host,” Dave Smith; freedom advocate, historian and Bitcoin futurist, Robert Breedlove; and Jo Anne and Mark Skousen, longtime liberty activists, founders of Freedom Fest and the Anthem LIbertarian Film Festival. More speakers will be confirmed in the coming months.
"For those interested in attending or sponsoring this historic, and transformative event with thousands of like-minded individuals, Convention registration and application for press coverage are available at: https://lnc2024.com/
Jeremy MacKenzie, creator of the internet meme country Diagolon, denies any connection with either Pierre Poilievre or the carbon tax protest at the Nova Scotia border, calling Prime Minister Trudeau's claims about him and Diagolon "malicious fabrications" based on a "fantasy narrative."
May 1, 2024 - "Jeremy Mackenzie, the creator of the internet meme country Diagolon, denied Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims that he and the Conservative Party of Canada or its leader Pierre Poilievre are connected in any way. 'The CPC has no connections or affiliations with myself or anyone involved in my circles,' Mackenzie said on his podcast. 'These claims by the Liberals are an outright and deliberately malicious fabrication in a desperate and pathetic attempt to sway support away from the Conservative Party’s momentum that appears overwhelmingly likely to crush the Liberals'...
"The claims, spurred on by Trudeau, came after Poilievre visited a legal carbon-tax protest encampment on the side of a highway in an Atlantic Canada border town. The flag of Mackenzie’s made-up country can be seen on the door of a camper Poilievre entered. The Prime Minister accused Poilievre of meeting with Diagolon, and has since continued to levy accusations of 'courting white supremacists' and 'conspiracy theorists.' The protesters denied any connection to Diagolon and told True North the drawing was made by someone who stopped in one time to get warm at the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa and was never seen again.
"Mackenzie confirmed their claims. He said he asked Sam Field, who according to Mackenzie owns the trailer, to remove the drawing 'immediately.' '(The carbon-tax protest Pierre visited) was born out of a small orbit of perennial freedom protesters seemingly cornerbacked by Mr. Sam Fields,' he said. Mackenzie said he has no relationship or recollection of any interaction with Fields.
'My partner Morgan (Guptill) doodled a Diagolon flag on his trailer door over two years ago, during the Ottawa protest action meant as a friendly gesture of support, and nothing more.... There is no connection between myself, Morgan, or any of the more prominent voices in our makeshift loose-knit community than that. Any connections being made are tenuous at best and purely coincidental. There is no involvement whatsoever.
”Poilievre denounced Mackenzie and Diagolon in September 2022.... In an email to True North, Sebastian Skamski, a spokesperson for Poilievre said the Conservative leader stands by his disavowal of Diagolon. 'Frankly, like most Canadians, until about a month ago I never heard of Diagolon and these losers. They are all odious,' Poilievre wrote on Sept. 26, 2022. "Mackenzie said he and the Conservative leader do not see eye to eye, and Mackenzie will remain a 'sharp critic' of ... Poilievre.
It is very clear to my audience as well as the CPC I’m sure and Mr. Poilievre himself that we are not mutual friends. There’s a very deep and I’m sure mutual disdain for one another.... It is my sincere hope that somehow Mr. Poilievre and his team will succeed in proving me to be impressively incorrect in my assessment of their character....
"The government has often alluded to extremist groups operating within the Freedom Convoy to justify its use of the never-before-used Emergencies Act to crack down on protesters. 'At its core, (Diagolon) is a tightly knit group of like-minded folks who enjoy my podcast and commentary. This government used this fantasy narrative painted by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network to enact the Emergency Measures Act in February 2022,' Mackenzie said....
